The next meeting is on Saturday 10th October when the speaker will be Grace Lyons giving her May Morris talk. Visitors welcome to the talk starting at 1.30pm at a cost of £10.00.
Our speaker this month was Suzette Smart, a Textile artist, Storyteller and Tutor based on the border of Shropshire and Wales in the UK. She uses fabric collage, free machine and hand stitching and prefers using thrifted and gifted fabrics including linen, lace and fabric scraps in her work embracing reuse. Her work is beautiful and Suzette will return to us in November 2026 to teach a workshop.
It was a full house today and although I like to think it was because they wanted to return the committee at the AGM I think it was more about the delicious food at the Summer Lunch!
Of course we had a wonderful selection of “Show and Tell” from talented members! What a joy.
Last but not least the Wendy Surridge Challenge! This year the theme was anything Japanese. It was won by Sian Luscombe with her beautiful Sashiko Quilt. Well done Sian!
This year we had a substantial amount of entries and what a joy it was. So difficult to chose the one to vote for but what a lovely job. Here they are!
Our member Myra has been very busy making small quilts for hospital incubators and this year there were some left over and available for another purpose.
Our charity for this year is Seren Dwt and they are a not-for-profit charitable organisation gifting Welcome Boxes to babies born with Down Syndrome across all Health Boards in Wales. Laura, Laura and Lou joined forces to create welcome baby boxes to celebrate the arrival of babies born with Down syndrome. The boxes also gently signpost families towards local and national support, and up to date information for if, or when, they needed it.The box celebrates their arrival and signposts families to local and national support groups and charities. They hold a monthly meet up group in South Wales for 0-5 yr olds and their parents/carers as well as meet ups in the school holidays open to all families with a child with Down syndrome. It was decided by Keris whose grandson has Down Syndrome, to use Myra’s extra quilts to make a floor mat and cushion for the babies to use at their monthly meetings. The children loved it.
We had a wonderful trip to Fishguard see the tapestry on a beautiful day in July 2026. Fishguard is a pretty coastal Town and it’s easy to get to. It’s it is the perfect quieter alternative to the busier southern tourist towns. Janes of Fishguard is Pembrokeshire’s leading wool shop, attracting knitters from throughout Wales and beyond. It also offered the opportunity for a drink or light meal at the cosy coffee shop. The Tapestry is a work of art and it was a pleasure to see the standard of work achieved by the group of stitchers who worked on it.
We enjoyed the chance to wander round the town centre and visit the book shop and gift shops in the town. Not to mention the cup of tea in the pub garden!
The Last Invasion Embroidered Tapestry is 30 metres / 100 feet long by 53cm / 21 inches deep and took four years to complete. It was commissioned by the Fishguard Arts Society as a permanent legacy of the Bicentenary Commemorations. It is now owned by a charitable trust – Fishguard Invasion Centre Trust Ltd.
The Tapestry was designed by Elizabeth Cramp and the embroidery advisers were Rozanne Hawksley, Eirian Short and Audrey Walker. Seventy-eight local people helped to make it. It was designed in a simple format and is the same depth as the Bayeux Tapestry, (which tells the story of the 1066 Norman Invasion). The embroidery stitches are mostly the same as those used by the medieval embroiderers. 178 shades of crewel wool were used and subtle colour changes indicate late winter days, night-time or candle light.
The Invasion Tapestry was worked on a natural cotton which looked like linen. For the Tapestry Appleton’s Crewel Wool was used; it is moth-proofed, does not fade and comes in hundreds of shades. It is a fine thread so that one, two, three or more strands can be used in a needle. The Tapestry was worked as 37 separate, manageable sized panels which were joined together afterwards. Simple wooden frames were made and the fabric stretched and stapled over the frames. To transfer the design to the fabric a careful tracing was made from Elizabeth’s painting on to ordinary tracing paper. Dressmaker’s tracing carbon was placed between the fabric and this tracing. Using pens it was then transferred to the fabric. These faint carbon lines where then “inked over” using a very fine waterproof drawing pen.
It is not possible to photograph the Tapestry but here are a few photos from the website so follow the links to read more about this yourselves.
Our next meeting is the AGM and Summer Lunch when the speaker will be Suzette Smart
This month we had a talk by Julie Heaton on ‘The Art of Free Motion Embroidery”.
Julie says “With a love for drawing, but inhibited by preconceived ideas, I use my sewing machine to make work that isn’t easily corrected. The inspiration for the practice began following a family tragedy when I had to rebuild a new life for my family and myself. Art became a way to make sense of a world that I had unintentionally become part of. Difficult emotions were explored and control became important, but through my art, I soon discovered that the greatest strength and beauty could come from the things that went wrong. With meticulous attention to detail, thread can be obsessively stitched over and over; colours are changed and tensions are altered to create the perfect image. Dissolvable fabric forms the base of the work but during the final stage, this is removed. And it is here that the intense effort used to control the making can become lost; nothing is guaranteed as the work takes on its own direction, and it is this that excites and encourages me to make my art”.
Julie has won the ‘Hand and Lock’ prize for her work twice. Once in 2019 and again in 2024. Julie’s talk was a very emotional one particularly for those who have experience of death in the family. Julie is a very talented machine embroiderer and we went on to complete a workshop under her instruction using Solufleece disposable fabric. The Solufleece is removed at the end of the process leaving a beautiful piece of embroidery!
Here are some examples from the workshop. First Cheryl Oliver’s then Amanda’s. Well done!
We had a wonderful selection of show and tell this month. Some pieces done at Maggies Japanese Folded workshop.
Next month it’s our trip to Fishguard! Looking forward to it so see you there.
Our very own member Maggie taught her Japanese Folded Patchwork workshop today! What a great time we had too. The workshop was oversubscribed but Maggie managed to squeeze us all in. We went home with a clear instructions and a challenge to finish our blocks!
An amazing Show and Tell this month. From a teddy bear made by Jilly for a new baby in Caroline’s family to some wonderful pieced quilts and a French General Layer Cake Quilt. A fishes wall hanging from a Nicolas Ball Improv workshop and a completed Moonstruck Hare. We have some talented busy people amongst us.
Another very busy day enjoyed with sewing friends.
Our next meeting will be on Saturday 9th May when we will have speaker and a workshop with Julie Heaton on ‘The Art of Free Motion Embroidery.” .See you all there!
Longer, warmer days are on the way and it was a glorious one here too. We came inside today to listen to Yvonne Shore talk about her Family History Stitched Panels and they are beautiful. Yvonne gave an interesting talk about her panels made for an exhibition at The Queen Street Gallery in Neath.
Yvonne does a lot of work with Eco dying too which was fascinating to see.
She has worked on an array of different techniques including Kawandi which I hadn’t heard of before. Originating from the Siddi community in India, Kawandi quilts are built from the outside in, piece by piece, directly onto the backing and batting. No pieced top, no patterns. Just pure, intuitive stitching. Each scrap is laid down and stitched through all layers using a visible running stitch.
Member Cheryl brought along a selection of small embroidered antique quilts for “Show and Tell,” that she had bought on a much enjoyed 6 week trip to India. She was very lucky to visit the home of the lady who made these examples and many more. What a trip and a delight to see them all.
There was some lovely work in progress and finished work today too. Sally”s beautiful piece continues the Family Heritage theme.
Keris and Corinne have finished their Quiet books for the Grandchildren. Keris’ with the circular porthole will be winging it’s way to Australia in time for Easter. Corinne’s is staying local and is going to the grandchildren for Easter too.
Members were, as usual enjoying the chat and comparing projects!
We meet again on Saturday 11th April when Maggie will be teaching her workshop on Japanese folded patchwork.
What a lovely day we had celebrating Valentines Day in quilting and sewing fashion. Gayney brought along some Redwork patterns to share and we chose a pattern to work on, traced it onto a linen background and got ready to sew.
Corinne bought along some appliqued hearts prepared and ready to be blanket stitched and then made into a Valentine Quilt to be raffled at our exhibition next year! What a a good start. Nearly all 42 squares were completed on the day.
As usual members delighted us with an astonishing variety of items in “Show and Tell”. From a beautiful fox from Amanda to an amazing rug that Helen had been working on and off for 30 years! Stunning quilts too, some with a heart theme and a couple of completed Moonstruck Hares and Circles from the workshops.
What a lovey day and with lots of heart shaped treats to enjoy in keeping with the Valentine theme.
The next meeting takes place on 14th March with speaker Yvonne Shore talking about her Family Sitched Panels.
Doughty’s Fabrics will be with us in Ystradowen Hall on Wednesday March 18th 10.30am to 2pm.
What a lovely way to start the New Year with a relaxing “Moonstruck Hare” workshop tutored by Paula Simpson.
Paula took us through this process in such a calm organised way so that it didn’t feel pressured at all. Just how slow stitching should be with lots of tips and advice for everyone on the way. So many interesting things to learn even for us seasoned sewers! New member as of today Lynda, jumped straight in at the deep end and joined us for the workshop and thoroughly enjoyed it!
Some examples of Paula’s work.
We all got well on the way with further instructions from Paula to enable us to finish our work at home! What a great workshop and start to the year.
Not too much Show and Tell this month but Jeannie and Julia have both finished projects for Care Leavers.
Some members couldn’t make the meeting today because of the snow and ice but we still had a great turnout from others. A lovely day after the busy Christmas season.
See you all on the 14th of February for our Valentine Special meeting when we will be making Redwork Hearts and decorating appliqued heart squares. More details to follow in the February Newsletter.
December has caught up with us and it’s time to enjoy some festive fun. Some sewing followed by a show and tell. Then lunch, a very clever Pass the Parcel game with a gift for everyone, followed by entertainment!
The tables are decorated so let’s enjoy a “Show and Tell”, some with a Christmas theme and some made for gifting.
After a delicious bring and share lunch we were fortunate to have a Ukulastics Ukulele Band to entertain us.
See you all in the New Year! Our next meeting is on Saturday 10th January 2026.
We had a record turn out this month! Pre Covid there were more members attending but we broke the mould for recent numbers. New people have joined us and it was really good to see everyone and put names to the new faces.
Old friend of Glamorgan Quilters, Shirley Davies came to give a talk “Then and Now”, and caught up with quilting friends who thoroughly enjoyed seeing her. Shirley has moved further away and is now a member of Swansea Quilters.
Shirley’s “Dear Jane” Quilt is stunning and so colourful!
What a wonderful, colourful display of Shirley’s work showing the range of fabric colours that were available from when she started quilting to now!
Another wonderful array of members work was on show too! Amanda’s Sue Spargo quilt “Truffle Duffle” is a delight and really worth a close look and Diane’s sensory story quilt for Ty Hafen will be much appreciated.
The Robins from last months workshop with Louise Nichols were being worked on ready for Christmas!
More “Show and Tell” with a large varied amount of members work !
Visitor Doris brought threads to sell with the money raised going to Ty Hafen and the book and stash sales table was attracting interest as usual!
The hall was so full there were no seats left so we had to get more tables and chairs out!
What a busy, interesting day and we’re back next month for our Christmas meal with entertainment fun on Saturday 13th December. See you all there!
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